H&H Fusilier's Ration
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I love Blackhouse, like Opus, and I really like Fusiller's Ration and plan to keep it in my rotation. Suggest you give it a try and think you will enjoy it.
Outstanding.
I smoked a lot of this a couple weekends ago as i took just some of my FMOTT and a tin of the FR on my trip to the IDPA championships.
No doubt there is the strong presence of lat all the way through this smoke, but there is a brightness/lightness from from the Orientals that many many more straight up lat blends miss. Very flavorful without being overwhelming, certainly for me a bit more of perceived nic kick (from the Va?) than I usually experience with other, simpler lat blends, but nothing as strong as some of the burleys out there. There is a hint of citrus, but nothing as strong in that realm as real VaPer (I don't THINK there is any Perique in this.)
I'd call the form of this tobacco a crumble cake -- you get sort of chunks of pressed tobacco. Rubs out very easily and really burned very well. I never had the chance to try Bengal Slices -- which this is supposed to emulate -- so I cannot say whether it succeeds in that or not.
Overall, four out of five stars from me.
I smoked a lot of this a couple weekends ago as i took just some of my FMOTT and a tin of the FR on my trip to the IDPA championships.
No doubt there is the strong presence of lat all the way through this smoke, but there is a brightness/lightness from from the Orientals that many many more straight up lat blends miss. Very flavorful without being overwhelming, certainly for me a bit more of perceived nic kick (from the Va?) than I usually experience with other, simpler lat blends, but nothing as strong as some of the burleys out there. There is a hint of citrus, but nothing as strong in that realm as real VaPer (I don't THINK there is any Perique in this.)
I'd call the form of this tobacco a crumble cake -- you get sort of chunks of pressed tobacco. Rubs out very easily and really burned very well. I never had the chance to try Bengal Slices -- which this is supposed to emulate -- so I cannot say whether it succeeds in that or not.
Overall, four out of five stars from me.
I really like it. Not overly tilted toward the latakia. Orientals are bright, sweet and noticeable. I like a little more oomph/body in the VA's department, but this is very smooth overall and will please most smokers for that reason. The top dressing is some kind of anise/licorice -- not that it tastes like that, but it adds a subtle sweetness and aroma that comes across (to me) a little like cake batter. Finally, the crumble cake treatment gives this blend an oiliness and almost imperceptible fruitiness that reminds me of similar qualities in Penzance.
Everything is well-balanced and nicely integrated. Again, my only caveat is that I like a stronger VA presence, so I sometimes throw in a pinch of GL Pease Cumberland or Triple Play.
Everything is well-balanced and nicely integrated. Again, my only caveat is that I like a stronger VA presence, so I sometimes throw in a pinch of GL Pease Cumberland or Triple Play.
At this stage Latakia can overwhelm every thing else and that is all I can taste. I have found that Frog Morton Cellar, PS Oriental Supreme and 4noggins Bald Headed Teacher work for me. I will give Fuseliers Ration a try. It sounds like a possibility.
Much like F&K Lancer Slices, I have read that this blend is supposed to be Russ' take on a bygone favorite, Bengal Slices. I havent tried Lancer Slices or Bengal Slices, but I do have a tin of this that I just ordered. Russ' English blends have done pretty well by me so far, so I look forward to trying it out, but it may be a while before I get around to it because I have a lot of other tobacco that I want to try first.
I love FR. Fresh out of the can it's meh, but I can say after close to 5 months of jarring it's developed quite nicely. In fact, I had a bowl of it this morning and it was outstanding. Probably an 8 or 9 out of 10 blend. Disclaimer: Black House didn't impress me at all.
I also started a thread on this last week:
I have been smoking Fusilier's Ration, the new H&H blend from Russ O. that was inspired by the venerable Bengal Slices, and I just wanted to see if others found it to be as transcendental a smoke as I do.
This is a "Balkan" in the truest sense. Yes, there's latakia here, but far less than you find in blends like Black House, Westminster, Larry's Blend, etc. What you DO have is a forceful mixture of the most exotic and delicious orientals I've ever come across, mixed with some truly remarkable virginia leaf. There is also a topping applied here, but it's not applied in such a way as to make me think "aromatic." In fact, it's far more prevalent in the tin aroma than in the flavor, where it lends a touch of sweetness and a slightly floral note. It's a very soft, rounded flavor, and the effect when combined with the other ingredients is best described by the term "creamy." I know, I know -- "creamy" is an overused and subjective term when it comes to pipe tobaccos, but I really can't think of any other word that fits.
Anyhow, this stuff flat-out rocks. The presentation -- a moist crumble cake similar to Classic Burley Kake -- is a dream to work with. The stuff lights and burns flawlessly, and I've yet to get bitten. I even like the taste of this stuff when it's unlit! My one complaint is that it seems to be out of stock more often than not, which has made it difficult for me to cellar it in the quantities I'd like to.
I have been smoking Fusilier's Ration, the new H&H blend from Russ O. that was inspired by the venerable Bengal Slices, and I just wanted to see if others found it to be as transcendental a smoke as I do.
This is a "Balkan" in the truest sense. Yes, there's latakia here, but far less than you find in blends like Black House, Westminster, Larry's Blend, etc. What you DO have is a forceful mixture of the most exotic and delicious orientals I've ever come across, mixed with some truly remarkable virginia leaf. There is also a topping applied here, but it's not applied in such a way as to make me think "aromatic." In fact, it's far more prevalent in the tin aroma than in the flavor, where it lends a touch of sweetness and a slightly floral note. It's a very soft, rounded flavor, and the effect when combined with the other ingredients is best described by the term "creamy." I know, I know -- "creamy" is an overused and subjective term when it comes to pipe tobaccos, but I really can't think of any other word that fits.
Anyhow, this stuff flat-out rocks. The presentation -- a moist crumble cake similar to Classic Burley Kake -- is a dream to work with. The stuff lights and burns flawlessly, and I've yet to get bitten. I even like the taste of this stuff when it's unlit! My one complaint is that it seems to be out of stock more often than not, which has made it difficult for me to cellar it in the quantities I'd like to.
I got a sample of this and the Slice O' Gold blends at the West Coast Pipes Show. I enjoyed them so much, I just ordered two tins of each.
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